“You’re tough, Cooper. Caribbean.”
“I haven’t had enough rum to believe you’re from the Caribbean, Maxwell.”
“Then let’s get the lady a drink.”
She laughed, and the haunted look in her eyes retreated a few paces.
“Before you get mad about the kiss,” he said into her ear, “you’d worried the lipstick off one side of your lower lip. I figured you wouldn’t want anyone to ask what was wrong. A kiss seemed the most expedient way of resolving the issue. Unfortunately, you’ll have to act like my date now or they’re going to want to know why I kissed you at all.”
Her smile slowly faded as she searched his face.
He bristled. “I don’t go around kissing women, Grace.”
Laying a hand gently on his cheek, she leaned forward and pulled him in for a very tender kiss.
Justin’s heart did a lazy roll in his chest that left him breathless when she broke away.
Turning, he placed one hand at the small of her back and encouraged Grace forward. It amused him that both Eric and Levi stood after Cass unapologetically kicked them under the table.
Eric slipped an arm around Cass’s shoulders. “This must be Grace Cooper.”
“The one and only,” Justin answered, nudging her forward another step and wondering at the fact the saucy wench he was crazy about had gone totally silent in the face of unknown men. Narrowing his eyes, he considered Eric and Levi objectively. They were both tall. Eric was leanly muscled, whereas Levi was bulkier, but not so huge his head seemed too small for his body. Both men sported dark hair, but Levi’s was nearly black and hung to his shoulders while Eric’s was executive chic all the way. Both were attractive, had great personalities. And suddenly he felt as if he was sizing his best friends up for dates versus assessing them for...what? Competition?
Levi shook his head, drawing Justin’s attention. “If you don’t stop looking at me like you’re trying to decide whether or not to take me home, I’m going to either knock you on your ass or demand you at least buy me a drink first.”
Everyone laughed, including Grace, so Justin went along with it. When he got Levi alone, though, they’d see who ended up on whose ass. For now, he dropped an arm around Grace’s shoulders and said, “You’re cute, but you’re not my type.”
“I’d rather be her type than yours, anyway.” Levi waggled his brows.
Justin stiffened, but Grace just laughed and leaned forward, resting her forearms on the bar-height table. “The only thing that means, hotshot, is that you’re going to go to bed wishing.”
Grace settled into Justin’s side as the group laughed again.
Levi lifted his beer in salute.
Cass pulled out a chair for Grace and said, “At first I was just glad you came because I’m tired of being the only woman in this group, but I think I’m going to really like you.”
Something shifted inside Justin, something he hadn’t expected. He’d wanted the people around this table to approve of Grace, and now he was sure they did. That only made him more determined than ever to gain her willingness to take a chance on him, to trust him, not just physically but emotionally.
The way she’d looked when she’d walked through the door said she’d given emotional control over to someone—the wrong someone. That person had stolen the color from her cheeks, robbed her of her confidence. He wanted to give it back to her.